Going for gold in the 10,000 meters (6.2m) at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Haile Gebrselassie matches Paul Tergat stride-for-stride at the finish line.

Setting yourself apart in the competitive business world really is not that difficult if you are willing to engage your brain and put in some hard work.  One area to develop an edge over your competition is tenacity; defined as grasping firmly, persistent, tough, tending to adhere.

The easy and therefore common behavior is to dive into a new project with hard work and good intentions, but as surprises occur, as issues pop up, and as resistance is encountered, that drive starts to waver and quickly becomes diluted.  Giving up is the worst reaction, but more often the reaction is much more subtle; that drive loses steam as people go through the motions but excuses tend to pile up faster than creative thinking and hard work.

Do you believe in the work that you are doing?  Then don’t despair when others put up resistance.  Don’t lose your energy level just because it takes time to achieve your goals.  Expect surprises to occur and be ready to work through them as they occur.  Stay focused, be sticky, and work hard.  As track runners will hear from their coaches, “run through the finish line without letting up.”

Run with persistence.  Finish strong, my friends.

P.S. – Here is a video to watch on this topic:  If You’ve Never Failed, You’ve Never Lived